Nellie Drew was grading papers last weekend and repeatedly stopped to divert her attention.

The sports law expert and adjunct professor at the University at Buffalo wanted to keep up to date with breaking news about Michigan State and there was plenty to digest.

Just three days after the NCAA announced it was investigating Michigan State for how it handled sexual assault complaints about former sports medicine doctor Larry Nassar, athletic director Mark Hollis resigned Friday morning - two days after president Lou Anna K. Simon did the same. Hollis cited a desire to help with the healing process after Nassar, who was sentenced to 40 to 175 years in prison on seven counts of first-degree sexual assault, spent nearly two decades employed by the university. About two hours after Hollis resigned, ESPN published a report questioning how Michigan State handled complaints of sexual assault and violence.

"I have to say it's one of the few times I remember getting chills reading a sports story," Drew said. "Deeply disturbing on a whole bunch of levels."

The Michigan State Board of Trustees on Wednesday unanimously approved the hiring of former governor John Engler as interim president. Hollis' last day as athletic director was Wednesday, and the university has yet to announce his replacement. With a spotlight now on Michigan State, sports law experts gave advice on steps it should take.

- Hire expert lawyers

The NCAA's letter of inquiry last week formally put Michigan State on the clock to respond. The university is also being investigated by Attorney General Bill Schuette, who said no individual or department is off limits.

"There are so many different strands to this I think, with respect to the NCAA allegations, the Board of Trustees more than likely at some point will bring in outside counsel, particularly a firm that has expertise in handling matters related to the NCAA," said Tim Davis, a sports law expert and professor at Wake Forest University. "I think that would certainly be a wise thing to do."

The Nassar scandal has drawn comparisons to Penn State and how it handled former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, who in 2012 was convicted of sexually assaulting boys. An April 2017 PennLive.com story reported Penn State had already spent more than $33 million in legal fees related to civil actions and negotiations with the NCAA and other groups.

"It is a very standard practice and a wise practice to bring in outside counsel who will work with the compliance office as well as the legal counsel for Michigan State to obtain the necessary information and interviews so they can conduct their internal investigation as a part of preparing for any potential charges that the NCAA might assert against Michigan State," Davis said. "A part of that process is working with NCAA and providing information that is requested by the NCAA as well."

- Start cooperating, be more transparent

This seems obvious but is still worth mentioning. In the NCAA's letter to Michigan State announcing an investigation, the organization pointed out Nassar's "appalling assaults," including against Michigan State student-athletes, the requirement of member schools to self-report potential violations and that the university hadn't done so regarding Nassar.

"As a practical matter, any time you're being investigated like this it's always in your best interests as an institution to come forward and say 'this is what we found, this is what we will do to correct this problem and prevent it from happening going forward,'" Drew said. "They can certainly sort of throw themselves on the mercy of the NCAA, much like Penn State did, which is probably not a bad idea."

When ESPN began investigating 10 universities for a 2014 story, it sought police reports involving football and basketball players from the last six years. Michigan State redacted the names of the players in university police reports, which ESPN challenged in court and won. When the company sent an additional records request in 2017, Michigan State sued ESPN to prevent releasing the information, but once again lost in court.

"They're not really helping themselves. ... They're not being transparent, they're not being cooperative," said David Ridpath, a professor of sports administration at Ohio University.

Scott Andresen, a Chicago-based sports law and entertainment attorney who teaches at Northwestern University, said coming clean about serious problems will obviously result in a negative publicity for a university. However, it's better to be proactive and display a willingness to put people ahead of public image.

"When these things come up, for whatever reason, it's always deemed to be 'well, let's just cover it up, let's bury it, let's just keep it out of the public eye,'" Andresen said. "I honestly don't know how of often this stuff stays buried but when it come out, it's really bad."

- Establish independent oversight

Following the Sandusky scandal at Penn State, the university in 2012 entered into an Athletics Integrity Agreement, along with the NCAA and Big Ten. It included the establishment of a new position: athletics integrity officer.

Ridpath's former colleague at Ohio University, Bob Boland, is now Penn State's athletics integrity officer. He reports to the university's chief ethics and compliance officer and Penn State's Board of Trustees legal and compliance committee.

"He does not report to athletics, he is not in any way funded by athletics and it is known that anyone can come to him," Ridpath said. "Faculty members, staff, janitors, student-athletes, whomever, can come to him with any concerns and he will investigate those."

Boland politely declined an interview request from MLive.com. Ridpath said establishing independent oversight would be a check to prevent individuals at the university from becoming too powerful.

Complaints about Nassar's treatments were raised as early as 1997 but it wasn't until The Indianapolis Star published a story in 2016 detailing allegations against him that he was fired by Michigan State. ESPN's report included claims that allegations of sexual assault were sometimes handled internally within the athletic department or even by coaches, including football coach Mark Dantonio and basketball coach Tom Izzo. Dantonio denied ever individually handling a sexual assault complaint and Izzo said he has and will cooperate with any investigations.

"People got to know there's somewhere they can go where they're going to be protected," Andresen said.